The Chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet: Containing an Account of the ...

presumptive heir to the crown, he would no longer suffer such waste to be committed on the public revenues, or on his father's demesnes. To this end, therefore, and for the security and welfare of the king and realm, he had thus assembled them, to make known to them, and all the world, his resolution of taking on himself the government of the kingdom, with a firm determination to provide a remedy against such abuses in future. When the above had been eloquently and elaborately explained to the assembly, it broke up, and every one returned to his home.

The princes of the blood, on receiving the orders from the duke of Aquitaine, took their leave of the queen, and separated from each other. The duke of Berry went to Dourdan *, in his county of Estampes, the duke of Orleans to Orleans, and the duke of Bourbon to his duchy of Bourbon. The duke of Burgundy was before, as has been mentioned, in his duchy of Burgundy. The king was very ill at his hotel of St. Pol at Paris. The next step of the duke of Aquitaine was to take away his duchess from the company of the queen, which he did in person, accompanied by the count de Richemont, and had her placed at St. Germain-en-Laye.

ch APTER CxxxWIII.-The KING OF ENGLAND ASSEMBLES A LARGE ARMY TO INVAloe FRANCE.-AMBASSADORS SENT IIIM FROM TLIAT COUNTIRY.—T II E ANSWelts Tilley. It Eclei W. E.

Hrnity W. of England, with Militany Attennants, UNDER THEIR appropriate BANNERs. 1 he figure of the King, from an illumination of the period; the Attendants, from tombs of the heroes of Azuncourt; and the Banners from examples engraved in Sir N. H. Nicholas's History of the Battle of Azincourt.

When the English ambassadors were returned to England, and had reported to the king their ill success, the king, princes, and country were much displeased thereat. After many councils had been holden, it was at length resolved, that the king should raise the greatest
possible force to invade France, and so sorely despoil that kingdom that the present king and his successors should be driven from it. To provide a sufficient fleet for the transport of his army, he sent commissioners" into Holland and Zealand, who, on proper security for good payment, made contracts for the number of vessels that would be wanted. The king of England had prepared all manner of stores and provisions necessary for war; and in regard to the payment of the forces, adequate sums were raised: indeed, there remained an overplus of five hundred thousand nobles, in money or plate. It was determined, that the king himself, attended by the princes and the whole army, should embark to invade France as early as possible. Intelligence of this was speedily carried to France. The duke of Aquitaine, who now governed the realm in behalf and in the name of the king his father, in consequence, held many councils, and remanded to Paris the duke of Berry and some other lords, with whom he had several consultations to know how he should act on this occasion, for the king was then confined by his disorder. It was determined, that men-at-arms and archers should be assembled in various parts of France ready to march against the English the moment it should be known they were landed; that garrisons should be placed in every town and castle on the coast; and that as large sums of money as possible should be raised with all speed. It was likewise resolved to send a solemn embassy to the king of England, to make him other offers, in answer to the demands of his last ambassadors. Those appointed for this business were the count de Vendôme, master William Bouratier, archbishop of Bourges,” master Peter Fennel, bishop of Lisieux, the lords of Ivry and Bracquemont, master Gautier Col, secretary to the king, master John Andrieu, and some oth rs of the great council. # Taking advantage of the existing truce, they set out from Paris, and travelling through Amiens, Montreuil, and Boulogne, to Calais, they there crossed the sea to Dover. They were in all three hundred and fifty horsemen, and continued their journey from Dover to Canterbury, where they were met by the king's harbingers, who conducted them through Rochester to London, and thence to Winchester, where the king was. The archbishop of Bourges explained to the king, in the hall of the bishop of Winchester, and in the presence of the dukes of Clarence, Bedford, and Gloucester, brothers to the king, and of the lords of the council, clergy, chivalry, and populace, the object of his embassy. The archbishop spoke first in Latin, and then in the Walloon language, so eloquently and wisely, that both the English and French who heard him were greatly surprised. At the conclusion of his harangue he made offers to the king of a great extent of country in France, with a large sum of ready money on his marriage with the princess Catherine, but on condition that he would disband the army he had collected at Southampton, and at the adjacent sea-ports, to invade France; and that by these means an eternal peace would be established between the two kingdoms. The assembly broke up when the archbishop had ended his speech; and the French ambassadors were kindly entertained at dinner by the king, who then appointed a day for them to receive his answer to their propositions, by the mouth of the archbishop of Canterbury.2 In the course of the archbishop's speech, in which he replied, article by article, to what the archbishop of Bourges had offered, he added to some, and passed over others of them, so that he was sharply interrupted by the archbishop of Bourges, who exclaimed, “I did not say so, but such were my words.” The conclusion, however, was, that unless the king of France would give, as a marriage-portion with his daughter, the duchies of Aquitaine, of Normandy, of Anjou, of Tours, the counties of Ponthieu, Mans, and Poitou, and every other 'art that had formerly belonged to the English monarchs, the king would not desist from his intended invasion of France, but would despoil the whole of that kingdom, which had been unjustly detained from him, and that he should depend on his sword for the accomplishment of the above, and for depriving king Charles of his crown. The king avowed

* I'ourdan,—a town in Beauce, on the river Orge, four leagues from Estampo.

* The commissioners were Richard Clitherow and ambassadors are detailed at length, with the handsome Symon Fleete, esquires.—Faedera. proposals on the part of France, in an wer to such exor

I would refer the reader to this excellent work for the bitant and unjust pretensions. whole detail of the negotiations with France respecting † “A stoute and prowde bishopp," says Graftou, *lit tuarriage of Catherine. The demands of the English p. 447. : See the Faedera.

what the archbishop had said, and added, that thus, with God's aid, he would act,--and promised it on the word of a king. The archbishop of Bourges then, according to the custom in France, demanded permission to speak, and said, “O king ! how canst thou, consistently with honour and justice, thus wish to dethrone, and iniquitously destroy the most Christian king of the French, our very dear and most redoubted lord, the noblest and most excellent of all the kings in Christendom. O king! with all due reverence and respect, dost thou think that he has offered by me such extent of territory, and so large a sum of money with his daughter in marriage, through any fear of thee, thy subjects or allies 2 By no means; but, moved by pity and his love of peace, he has made these offers to avoid the ... shedding of innocent blood, and that Christian people may not be overwhelmed in the miseries of war; for whenever thou shalt make thy promised attempt, he will call upon God, the blessed Virgin, and on all the saints, making his appeal to them for the justice of his cause,_and with their aid, and the support of his loyal subjects and faithful allies, thou wilt be driven out of his dominions, or thou wilt be made prisoner, or thou wilt there suffer death by orders of that just king whose ambassadors we are. We have now only to entreat of thee, that thou wouldst have us safely conducted out of thy realm ; and that thou wouldst write to our said king, under thy hand and seal, the answer which thou hast had given to us.” The king kindly granted their requests;* and the ambassadors, having received handsome presents, returned by way of Dover to Calais, and thence to Paris. They reported to the duke of Aquitaine, in the presence of the members of the grand council, many knights and other persons, the ill success of their embassy. At the same time, the duke of Aquitaine and the council received letters from the king of England, dated from Winchester, containing his final answer to the proposals that had been made him.

CHAPTER CXXXIX. —THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY SENDS AMBASSADORS TO THE DUKE OF AQUITAINE.--THE ANSWER THEY RECEIVE.-HE TAKES THE OATH.

The duke of Burgundy, tormented by the clamours of those who had been banished from Paris and the kingdom of France, and whom, as I have noticed, he had taken under his protection, was very desirous of alleviating their distress, and for this purpose sent ambassadors to Paris to his son-in-law the duke of Aquitaine, and to the grand council of the king. These ambassadors were sir Regnier Pot and the lord d'Ancre, knights, the bishop of Tournay, and an advocate of Dijon. They were instructed to solicit the recal of those who had been banished the kingdom by royal authority, and that the five hundred who had been excepted by the articles of the peace should be fully pardoned, and that all which had passed should be forgotten. They were also to insist, that the duchess of Aquitaine, whom the duke had sent to reside at St. Germain-en-Laye, should inhabit the Louvre with him, and that he should put away a female friend who lived with him in place of his said wife. If these things were complied with, he promised to take the prescribed oath to preserve the peace,—otherwise not.

The duke of Aquitaine was so much angered, when he first heard these proposals, that the ambassadors did not experience a very agreeable reception. They waited, therefore, on him another day, in hope of receiving more favourable answers; but finding that they could no way succeed in what had been ordered by their lord the duke of Burgundy, they addressed the duke of Aquitaine as follows: “Most renowned prince, and very noble lord, with reverence be it known to you, that if you do not grant what our aforesaid lord requires of you, he will never swear to the observance of the late peace; and should the English invade France, neither he himself nor his vassals will bear arms in your service, or for the defence of the kingdom.” The duke, hearing this, was more exasperated than before; but, dissembling
his feelings, he replied, that he would advise with his council on the subject of their coming, and within a short time would send an answer to their lord by a confidential person. Upon this, the ambassadors returned to Burgundy. The duke of Aquitaine consulted the grand council on the above; and in consequence, sir Guichard Daulphin, the lord de Viel-pont, and master John de Vailly, president of the parliament, were sent, in the king's name, to Burgundy, where they treated so effectually with the duke, whom they met at Dijon, that he took the same oaths the others had done; and they brought back his certificate under his seal, which was given to Estienne Mauregard, master of the rolls. The duke of Burgundy, however, kept up a very large force of men-atarms and archers, in the duchy and county of Burgundy, and the adjacent parts, to the great loss of the poor inhabitants, to aid and defend him, should there be occasion. On the 23d day of July, those five hundred persons whose names had been excepted from the amnesty on the conclusion of the peace between the duke of Burgundy and the other princes of the blood, were publicly banished, by sound of trumpet, from France, in the presence of the ambassadors from the duke of Børg indy. at that time in Paris.

* “The king was nothing vexed nor unquieted with “My lorde, I little esteem your French bragges,’ &c." the sayeings and prowde bragges of the unnurtured arch- —Grafton. bishopp, but well remembering the sayeing of Salomon, It is very easy to bestow the terms of pride and insolence &c. &c., coldely and soberly answered the bishop, saying, on whichever side of the question it is most convenient.

cHAPTER CXL.—HENRY, KING OF ENGLAND, MAKES GREAT PREPARATIONs To INvADE FRANCE.-HE SENDS LETTERS TO THE KING OF FIRANCE AT PARIS.

It is proper that we now return to the king of England, who was making vast preparations of warlike stores, and every other necessary, to accomplish his projected invasion of France. He had marched his army to Southampton, and to the neighbouring sea-ports; and after the 2d day of August, when the truce between the two kingdoms expired, the garrisons of Calais and other places began to overrun and despoil the country of the Boulonois, and divers other parts. The king of France instantly ordered thither, to oppose them, the lord de Rambures, master of the cross-bows, and the lord de Louroy, with five hundred combatants, for the defence of the country. Within a few days after the expiration of the truce, king Henry, whose preparations were now completed, sent one of his heralds called Gloucester", to Paris, to deliver letters to the king, of which the contents were as follows.

“To the very noble prince, Charles, our cousin and adversary, of France. Henry, by the grace of God king of England and of France. To give to every one what is their due, is a work of inspiration and wise council, very noble prince, our cousin and adversary. The noble kingdoms of England and France were formerly united, now they are divided. At that time it was customary for each person to exalt his name by glorious victories, and by this single virtue to extol the honour of God, to whom holiness belongs, and to give peace to his church, by subjecting in battle the enemies of the public weal. But alas ! good faith among kindred, and brotherly love, have been perverted; and Lot persecutes Abraham by human impulsion, and Dissention, the mother of Anger, has been raised from the dead. We, however, appeal to the sovereign Judge, (who is neither swayed by prayers nor gifts from doing right), that we have, from pure affection, done every thing in our power to preserve the peace; and we must now rely on the sword for regaining what is justly our heritage, and those rights which have from old time belonged to us; and we feel such assurance in our courage that we will fight till death in the cause of justice. The written o/, law in the book of Deuteronomy ordains, that before any person commences an attack on a / city, he shall first offer terms of peace; and although violence has detained from us our rightful inheritances, charity, however, induces us to attempt, by fair means, their recovery : for should justice be denied usuwe may then resort to arms. And to avoid having our conscience affected by this o: make our personal request to you, and exhort you by the bowels of Jesus Christ, to follow the dictates of his evangelical doctrine. Friend, restore what thou owest, for such is the will of God, to prevent the effusion of the blood of man, who was created in his likeness. Such restitution of rights cruelly torn from us, and which we have so frequently demanded by our ambassadors, will be agreeable to the supremu

* Hollingshed styles him “Antilope, pursuivant at arms.”

God, and secure peace on earth. From our love of peace, we were inclined to refuse fifty thousand golden crowns lately offered us; for, being more desirous of peace than riches, we have preferred enjoying the patrimony left us by our venerable ancestors, with our very dear cousin Catherine, your noble daughter, to iniquitously multiplying our treasures, and thus disgracing the honour of our crown, which God forbid!

“Given under our privy seal, in our castle of Southampton, the 5th day of the month of August.”

#he above letter having been presented by the herald to the king of France, he was told that the king and council would examine it, and consider more at length its contents, –and that the king would provide accordingly, in such time and place as should seem good to him,-and that he might return to his lord the king of England when he pleased.

chapter czli.—THE KING of ENGLAND, while AT south AMPton, Discovers A conspiRACY OF HIS NOBLES AGAINST HIM.–HE LAYS SIEGE TO HARFLEUR, AND wins THAT TOWn.

WHILE the king of England remained at Southampton, to embark his army which was now ready to sail for France, he was informed that many lords of his household had entered into a conspiracy against him, with the intent to place the earl of March, the rightful 2}successor and heir to Richard the Second, on the throne of England. True it is, that the earl of Cambridge, with others, had plotted to seize the persons of the king and his brothers, to accomplish the above purpose, and had revealed their plan to the earl of March, who had discovered it to the king, advising him, at the same time, to be on his guard, or he would be betrayed, and named to him the conspirators. King Henry was not long in having them arrested, when the three principal were beheaded, namely, the earl of Cambridge, the lord Scrope of Masham, who every night slept with the king, and sir Thomas Grey. Some others were afterwards executed. This matter being ended, the king hastened the embarkation of his army, and put to sea. On the vigil of the Assumption of Our Lady, they made in the night-time a harbour" which lies between Harfleur and Honfleur, where the river Seine enters the sea, and landed without any effusion of blood. Their fleet might consist of about sixteen hundred vessels of all sorts, full of soldiers, and every sort of warlike stores. When the whole of the army was landed, the king fixed his quarters at a priory in Gravillet; and his brothers, the dukes of Clarences and Gloucester Š, near to him. His uncles, the dukes of York || and Dorset's, the bishop of Norwich, the earls of Windsor”, Suffolk++, earl marshal, Warwickft and Kent $$, the lords de Camber, Beaumont, Willoughby of Trompington, sir John de Cornewall, Molliflac ||, with many more, lodged themselves as well as they could. They marched the army to besiege with vigour the town of Harfleur, the commanding sea-port of all that coast of Normandy. The king's army was composed of about six thousand helmets and twenty-three thousand archers, exclusive of cannoneers, and others employed with the engines of war, of which he had great abundance. About four hundred picked men-at-arms had been sent by the French government to defend Harfleur, under the command of the lords d'Estouteville, governor of the town, de Blainville, de Bacqueville, de Hermanville, de Gaillart, de Bos, de Clerè, de

* Probably Quilleboeuf. t Graville,_a small town in Normandy, on the road between Havre and Harfleur. 1 Thomas, duke of Clarence. $ Humphry, duke of Gloucester. | Edward, duke of York, son of Edmund Langley, fifth son of Edward III. * Thomas Somerset, earl of Dorset, and afterwards duke of Exeter, youngest son of John of Gaunt by Cathe- rine Swineford. Hollingshed commits two errors, first, in saying that the marquis of Dorset was made duke of Exeter, whereas the marquis of Dorset was a distinct person from the earl, being the eldest son of John of Gaunt by the same venter, and forfeited his title by

treason in l H. 4.—Secondly, in fixing the date of creation in l H. 4, whereas the earl of Dorset was not made duke of Exeter till 4 H. 5, the year after the battle of Azincourt. * There was no earl of Windsor.—This is probably a mistake for Ralph Nevil, earl of Westmoreland, who accompanied the king. ++ Michael de la Pole, earl of Suffolk, killed at Azincourt. to Richard Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, a distin- guished warrior, and afterwards regent of France. §§ A mistake for Gilbert de Umphraville, earl of Kyme.